Coming at Winter's End
by Ruth Lechner
Summary: Each end has a beginning, and each beginning has an end. Sometimes, we just come full circle. It is a mysterious process. She was his siren, and she just awakened his destiny. Toshiro Hitsugaya/OC (xOC) Slight AU moments, with definite AU ending. Maybe OOC Toshiro (you tell me). Wrote this last year. One-shot. Long. COMPLETE


Coming At Winters End

"_Even though you're a Zanptakutou, you still need someone to love you…"_

She kneels, complacent and affectionate for the girl. Nazami stands, short, delicate and youthful, touching the woman's teal hair. She has her eyes closed, head bowed a little, cheek pushing softly into the affection. The woman's hands are slender in her teal lap. She is a powerful force, yet she is so delicate before the girl.

"Even though you are a Zanpakutou, you still need someone to love you…" The standing girl smiled brightly, her words warm and caring, her tone, attitude - kind. In fact, Nazami believes, that because the woman is _there, _that she deserves to be loved.

The kneeling woman merely rubs her cheek into the hand, eyes closed. The world around them is mostly dark, like night, and their surroundings are nondescript, merely an inky black. Sometimes they were by rocks with midnight hanging around them, and sometimes they were by snow, but mostly, when they first met, Nazami and the woman were in welcoming darkness that neither were perturbed by. It was only fitting at the time.

"What can you do, as a Zanpakutou? I know they can do many things – like, special abilities!" Nazami said one time. Her voice echoed with her excitement and happiness in the darkness, which neither minded. It enhanced the excited vibe between them at the time.

"I can negate the effects of any other shinigami's zanpakutou…And other things." She said, not stopping the feeling of the girl's touch.

"Wow, you must be pretty invincible." The girl giggled, but she was more naïve than immature.

"Not quite…" The woman said softly, smiling. "For all my power, I am alone, until I came to you…"

The girl said not much more that night, but her happiness was undented. The two were unguarded in this world.

In the space where they were together, not much could invade. It was simply Nazami and the woman.

Most of the time, they didn't say much to each other. It was the unspoken that spoke, here. Their mutual presence was more than enough. Nazami was very content during times like this, and the woman told her the same, without her lips moving. Nazami's peaceful feelings seeped into her everyday world and eased her – it made her life easier and happier.

"Where do you come from?" Nazami asked one night, later. The woman was a mystery. It never occurred to her that she didn't know the woman's name – she had the sense that she would tell her if the time came, if the woman wanted.

"Even I do not know," The woman smiled. "My memories are vague. I have lived for centuries. In a way, I think I have always been alive."

"Centuries? That's a long time." The girl grinned, on her back, but looking at the woman. "I'm only fourteen. Do you think you'll live forever?"

The woman chuckled at the girl. Nazami thought if the woman met her friends or went to her school, all the boys and all the girls would love her. She was very beautiful.

"I know so. I am a power many are after. I will always exist. But I have no wielder, for I cannot be controlled."

Nazami nodded her head, for that made sense to her. It somehow just did. Nazami and the woman were sitting together under the blue sky, but the ground was opal grey, like a cloud stretching out far past both of their sight, like the sky does.

"I think the best things cannot be controlled." Nazami replied, gazing serenely at the woman, who gave her a smile in return.

Nazami grinned, wrapping her arms around her knees, at her chest, gazing up at the blue sky that was the same color as her eyes. After a while, Nazami said. "I don't see why you're alone; you're pretty cool, to me." She grinned happily, then gazed back at the sky where some clouds were passing by.

The woman gazed at Nazami with a tranquil, happy smile on her face, and she kept her dark eyes on Nazami for a long time.

"What is it like… to have, friends?" The woman asked tentatively one day.

Nazami gazed at the woman in some surprise, then she thought about it. "Well… It's a wonderful feeling when you find a friend who is like you - it's a very warm feeling. Otherwise, you simply chat with your friends, talk, sometimes do homework together, or go to their house…"

She gazed at the woman and saw that she had no clue what she was talking about, so she gave a thoughtful hum in a sigh. "I had one friend that I connected to, but she moved away a few years ago. Since then I haven't really had a close friend. But I still chat to my class-mates."

The woman nodded, more confidently with the information than when she had gingerly asked the girl, unsurely.

The woman had dark, bottomless eyes, though they never once intimidated the young Nazami. She thought that perhaps they could intimidate people, in the right situation. Nazami wondered to the extent of how a Zanpakutou could feel, but the woman appeared to be very cool and mysterious. Her eyes did not scare her - Nazami loved them. She thought that some people may not like them like she did, but that did not matter, for she was the only one who saw the woman, as far as she knew.

IIOIOIOII

Nazami's friends started to treat her differently as she aged. By the time she was sixteen, she started spending more time alone, even at school. People gravitated away from her.

"I don't know why they treat me differently," Nazami said, her knees pulled to her chest as she rocked slightly. The sky was dark, but the woman was there. Nazami felt unsure and insecure – she didn't know why this was happening. "My friends have all moved away, and the others just… don't want to be around me."

She rubbed an arm over her eyes as she started crying.

The woman was next to her, and put a cold hand on her back. Nazami didn't mind the temperature. It was only a handful of times where the woman touched her first, and this was one of those times.

"Perhaps you are not on the same wavelength as you used to be."

"Perhaps…" She murmured hoarsely, wiping her eyes. The woman came closer so she could wrap her clothed arm around the girl's back, slender but strong fingers curling around her shoulder. "I am getting used to it…"

The woman nodded once and said nothing more. It was the woman's presence that comforted the young Nazami, and that was all she needed, to cry in the silence, knowing her companion was there.

Nazami finally wiped her eyes for the final time. "It's okay to let people go…" She said. "Sometimes that is what's best."

She gazed into the woman's bottomless, wise eyes, and continued with a hopeful smile. "It lets you know who is worthy to stay."

She grinned with a 'hee', despite her eyes being red and her nose slightly swollen, and the woman smiled back warmly, compassionately and non-judging. Nazami cried a little bit more, feeling hope.

"It is alright to be different from them," The woman said quietly, gently, eyes lowered. "They may not understand you, or what you see, but don't think you're lower than them, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded, and sniffed.

IIOIOIOII

Nazami was looking over her shoulder at the new kids in her school. _The new kids are different. _She thought to the woman in her head. She sometimes talked to her in her thoughts, knowing somehow the woman heard her from wherever she was, and she felt comforted that she could always hear her.

The group were made up of a tall red-head, a boy with purple hair, a busty orange-haired woman and a small blue-haired girl. They were incredibly excited to be at school.

Nazami turned back to the front of the class as their teacher continued his talking, gesturing to the blackboard and writing new problems on it.

IIOIOIOII

It was mid-term, the last day before holidays, so the school gave everyone a half day. Nazami was at the mall, seated at a metal round table with two chairs, sipping a milkshake and watching as people walked by.

"_How do you know of me?" The woman asked Nazami the last time they were together in their own world. "There is no knowledge of the Zanpakutou's or the Soul Society in the living world."_

_Nazami gazed blankly at the woman, then shrugged. "What's the Soul Society?"_

Nazami also recalled another conversation she had with the female Zanpakutou.

"_How is it that you cannot be controlled?" Nazami asked. For some reason, this woman made absolute sense to her – but she wanted to hear her sovereignty explained._

_The woman shrugged mysteriously, eyes closed._

"_I live where no one can find me. In the in-between."_

_The woman opened her eyes, slowly and carefully, and looked to the girl, gazing at her with love._

"_That is how you found me. And I found you. And that is why I cannot be found. But you managed to, when you dream. I met you when you were very small, and that is how you know me. Now, you are conversing with me, however."_

"_I think that is how you know of the ways of the Zanpakutou... You are connected to the place I live, where all knowledge exists. And we are meant for each other."_

Nazami's ears caught a rather loud female noise of interest and surprise near her. She turned her head, still drinking from the straw in her mouth, and looked at the odd group of people that had been the new kids at the beginning of the year.

"It's Nazami-chan! Helloooo Nazami-chan~!" waved the woman with a big bust and orange hair that came down her nape. She had somehow made their boring school uniform very fashionable and trendy with the scarf and other accessories.

The three others near Matsumoto looked at each other as Rangiku came closer, gushing and clasping her hands together, leaning near Nazami.

"Oi, Matsumoto, she may not like you calling her Nazami-chan," said the red-head in a bored manner, scratching his ear, but nonetheless the group came over.

"I don't mind," Nazami said, glancing at Matsumoto. She took out the straw from her mouth and put down the milkshake, since she was in company now.

"Nazami-chan, what are you doing here?" Matsumoto gushed. "We were just about to go shopping!" She squealed.

The red-head guy groaned and rubbed his temple with his palm in an irritated manner.

"Well, you're in the right place," Nazami chuckled, lounging in her seat. "I was just, you know," She put her hand around her milkshake. "Getting a milkshake." She slurped once.

Matsumoto got in the opposite seat so fast she was like a blur, making her friends sweatdrop next to them as the busty woman leaned forward on her elbows.

"We haven't talked much, Nazami-chan! In case you didn't know, I'm Rangiku Matsumoto - We should become friends and we can go shopping all the time! At **every **mall! There is so much to see here – and we've never been here before -"

"Geez, woman, you'd kill her. Like yer killin' me…" complained the red-head.

"Hm? Did you say something, Zumo-kun?" Matsumoto said saccharinely, smiling at Zumo, who stammered nervously and hastily put his hands in his uniform trouser pockets, muttering an innocent 'nothing'.

The navy haired boy spoke up.

"Sayomi-san, how did you find the finals?"

Nazami shrugged calmly. "They were alright. Not too difficult."

The red-head exploded. "Alright?! I nearly died!"

The blue haired girl, the companion of the red head, giggled shyly behind her hand. "That's because you don't like studying, Zumo-kun…"

"Yeah well that's cus we don't have ta **be** here long anym- OW! Hotaru-chan!" He rubbed his arm while pouting at the blue haired girl.

Nazami swept her eyes over the four of them and sipped her treat, meeting Matsumoto's unflinching eyes across the table in a contemplative manner. She was looking at Nazami over her laced hands.

"She's one of the best in the class, of course she's going to find it easier anyway!" Zumo shouted in argument to Hotaru.

Rangiku made a deep 'hmmm?' then exclaimed. "You're my new friend!"

"Hehehe… Okay." Nazami smiled.

IIOIOIOII

Nazami, now aged twenty two, sank into the cool, refreshing waters of the deep rock pool in her inner world. Ever since the woman had decided to stay by her side, many things had happened. Nazami had died and gone on to Seireitei, or the Soul Society, where she became a Shinigami, and then became a captain of the Gotei 13. She was the youngest captain in history, earning a lot of riff-raff among Seireitei.

It turned out that that strange group in her school were actually undercover shinigami's, so when she died she came to the Soul Society she met up with them, much to their mutual chagrin, and her slight shock and annoyance.

She excelled through the academy, though she wasn't one for fighting, she soon realized. But she followed her inner voice, the voice of the woman, and was picked to become captain of the tenth division. The division had been falling apart a bit from the previous empty seat since the last taichou left. Nazami was a thoughtful, commanding and thorough taichou who turned the division back around to get it running properly on its feet. She'd had the post for a few years. Although she'd had some hassle to get a reputation, since she was consistent with her humbleness and firmness, many were eventually won over and gave her due respect. The turning around of the division made Seireitei breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Nazami was very proud of herself. And she had made a friend in Matsumoto. Her third seat sometimes came to visit her, or she to Matsumoto when she could be free of duties and paperwork, and they had many lively chats, although Nazami declined any and all sake parties. She let her third seat have her fun, when her work was done.

Midnight hung above Nazami and the woman as they relaxed in the deep pool of their inner world. The legs of the woman turned into a long, beautiful tail in water, and since she had decided to be with Nazami – as their talking when she was a human didn't guarantee she was going to decide to stay with her - she showed this self, revealing her dual nature. Half woman, half 'fish'. In the many years they had been together, since Nazami was now dead she aged much more slowly, she had delved into the depths of this woman's power, since she allowed her too.

"Why did you decide to stay?" Nazami asked. It was the right time to ask. She hadn't known before – it had just happened that the woman decided to stick with her. It was an intuitive process.

"You did not want to control me." Her zanpakutou replied. "There was always something I liked about you. I am power, you were born with me. You understand me, and I understand you. We have a bond. I have never felt the desire to be a part of anyone else, and I have watched and seen many humans and Shinigami, until I met you face to face. I simply wanted to stay by your side. You would not use me for harm."

"You know I am honoured by that." Nazami replied. She was a very mature person for her age. "Every day you stay, I am honoured."

The woman nodded, gazing at the myriad of stars above them in this world. Her dark teal hair was wet and thick, drifting around her waist in the water. Nazami's long brown hair had also grown to her waist, waving by her waist in the water if she moved.

"I have a sense something is coming," Nazami said. "Do you feel it?"

"Yes."

"It is exciting." The tenth squad captain said with a straight face, her eyes upturned to the sky still.

The woman looked at Nazami. The girl, although no longer a girl, was a deep, intuitive person, and she had the capacity to hold the woman. Not many could do that. But as well, they were attuned to one another. She had loved her that day when she met her, when she saw she was alone. They had been alone in the same way, without a true companion, and they simply… fit each other. It was said, between souls, that every few centuries a wielder is born with the capability to hold the power that was so sought. Her, the woman. The woman believed it was the same soul, born over and over again in the worlds. A turn in the real world, then when she died, re-born into the Seireitei. Each had a turn. But the power was hers, each and every time.

IIOIOIOII

"She is the wielder."

"Are you certain, Yamamoto-taichou?"

The man grunted in affirmation.

The fukutaichou bowed his head in his dutiful reporting position.

"She must stay in the Seireitei. We will not repeat our mistakes."

"Hai, Yamamoto-taichou."

IIOIOIOII

"Taichoouu~" Matsumoto burst into the administrative office one day, gliding in. "I am concerned about your lack of male hunk~!"

Nazami had heard the same from the matronly woman that had taken care of her when she arrived in Seireitei. She complained about her lack of 'solid male'.

"I am fine, Matsumoto." She replied calmly, hand hovering in the air as gripped her utensil, writing on a document.

"Maaahhh~ Why is it I never see you with any young, dashing men? For someone so pretty, taichou, I thought you'd at least have a beau by now..!"

Nazami smiled patiently at her third-seat. "I simply have not had the time, nor the interest."

"Interest…?!" Matsumoto echoed, horrifiedly. "Are you-"

"No." Her taichou's features were drawn as if she really didn't like being doubted like that.

"Meh,"

"Matsumoto, I find many men handsome. But I have not found a male that I have a connection with, yet."

"Ahhh! You want a connection," Matsumoto brought a finger to her chin and began scheming, running all the men's faces she knew in her mind.

Nazami used her firm voice. "Enough. Please return to your duties, Matsumoto."

"But I-" She insisted innocently.

Nazami fired a firm, steady look at Matsumoto. "Please, Matsumoto."

IIOIOIOII

The conversation that day was soon forgotten, and things happened in soul society. Urahara and Yuroichi left, 'betrayed', said Yamamoto, the Soul Society, and two new taichou's were in their place. Mayuri – whom she quickly learned had a quick temper, a peculiar disposition (over time, she learnt that one) and had a general distaste for fools. There was also Aizen, as he took the place of Shinji. Soon, Gin took the third division taichou position, and it appeared the face that Nazami knew of the Gotei 13 was changing.

She was also starting to think that, with all due respect to the Head Captain, he was a dumbass.

"_I am thinking of passing over my captain duties." She said to the woman._

_The woman looked hardly surprised, though she raised an eyebrow. "Why?"_

_Nazami scratched her scalp, though not in a confused way. "I am not enjoying it as much anymore. I am not talking about resigning now, I am thinking maybe in a few years."_

Years later Nazami learnt of the substitute shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki, and it was around the time Ichigo Kurosaki became noticed that Nazami left her position.

"Nazami-sama!" Hotaru cried. "You can't just leave us! We've been your friends for years!"

The original group were gathered. Zumo was resigned as he gazed at her, the others had their own shock or incredulity on their faces.

"I love you, my friends. But it is time for me to move on." Nazami smiled softly, feeling sad also but excited for the new roads ahead. Hotaru burst into tears and ran into Nazami's arms, which she reluctantly allowed at the last minute, because she thought she might try to bring her back. The blue haired girl cried and cried until she realized what she was holding was hard.

"Goodbye, my friends…"

She pulled back, and saw she was holding a doppelganger. It disappeared.

IIOIOIOII

"_Where will you go?" said the woman._

"_It is not my place to follow Urahara-san and Yoruichi-san further than the extent of leaving. I will find my own way."_

"_Good luck. I will be with you."_

Nazami travelled out of Seireitei into the outskirts of Rukongai, where she met a small, scrawny boy with white hair and turquoise eyes.

She walked over to him. He had a stern scowl on his face and was lounging on the deck of a wooden house, the only house for a few miles, nearby a forest stood quiet.

"Excuse me," She asked, hands in her simple purple kimono. The boy looked up in sudden surprise, as if it was weird she was talking to him. She laughed warmly. "Yes, you."

The boy scowled as if he thought she was mocking him. That was not the case, Nazami didn't mock anyone.

"What do you want?" He grumbled.

She was unmoved by his attitude and sensed a nearby presence to which she diverted her attention to.

"Shiro-kuuun!"

The boy snapped his head to where Nazami was looking, then he glowered. "Bed-wetter Momo…" He muttered darkly.

"I brought watermelon- Oh. Who's this?"

"No one." He grumbled again. Nazami looked at him, then back at the girl, who was wearing an academy uniform.

Nazami smiled warmly.

"You are at the academy?"

The girl with two low navy ponytails had been unsure, but suddenly smiled brightly. "Yes! Yes! I am a first year! I just entered! Shiro-chan doesn't like it that I'm at the academy, but I know he still likes me as his friend!" She grinned.

The boy stood up from the deck indignantly. "I do not! You just come around here! And the name is _Toshiro!_"

Nazami chuckled off the boy's attitude diplomatically. "That is delightful to hear. I was once at the academy, also."

The girl's eyes shined with awe. "Really?! You were?!"

"Hai," Nazami nodded graciously with a serene smile. "I was a captain."

The boy snorted from the deck like 'yeah right'.

"Really?!" Momo exclaimed in pure happiness and excitement. "Ah! Well, you can come and eat with me and Shiro-chan, I'm sure he won't mind!" Momo tugged on her purple sleeve insistently.

"Baka! What will granny say when she sees you here?!"

Momo waved it off heartily. "She knows I'm your only friend, Shiro-chan, she won't mind." She hopped onto the deck and sat, handing a watermelon. The boy grabbed it greedily and ate the yummy stuff.

"The name's Toshiro…" He murmured to Hinamori.

Momo giggled and turned to Nazami, who forgot why she had originally approached the white haired boy. Something about him...

"There's a seat here, come on! My name is Momo Hinamori, by the way."

"That is very gracious of you, Momo, thank you." Nazami took the seat gingerly. Momo smiled. Momo was between the white haired boy and the ex-taicho as they ate.

"Wow, this is delicious." Nazami complimented.

"Hai! They had good prices today too," Momo beamed. "Not that Shiro-chan likes to go into the market, much…"

"The name's Toshiro, bet-wetter…" He reminded again.

"I'm sorry," Momo apologized to Nazami, who saw the young girl was open, curious and kind. "His full name is Toshiro Hitsugaya. Don't worry about him he's always like this."

Nazami smiled. "I am Nazami Sayomi. It is nice to meet you both."

She took a bite of the red juicy watermelon.

"Wow! That is so cool! I wish I can become captain one day!" Momo clasped her hands together.

"Maybe you will."

"Tch. You were a young captain, _if _you were a captain."

"Yes," Nazami responded graciously to the boy's attitude. "They gave me some grief, but I was firm in my duties and I eventually won them over. Say, Momo, is there a particular squad you'd like to go into?"

"Ano… I… I really admire Aizen-sama…." She blushed.

Nazami's eyebrows raised. "Aizen? Fifth division is a good squad, they are very skilled and nurture talent."

Momo blushed. "Hai…"

Toshiro was staring at Nazami.

Nazami smiled, having the feeling Momo would perhaps be more suited to lieutenant, so she could serve Aizen. She inwardly frowned, because that man was a bit too nice.

They all finished their watermelon. Nazami did so in silence, Toshiro spat some of the seeds at Hinamori, and they had their own conversation.

Nazami was contemplating what to do and where to go next when the door behind them slid open.

"What's all this fuss about, young ones? Has dear Momo come to visit?" A short, old woman with a cane stood there. She had a kind face and a nice smile.

Toshiro's turquoise eyes softened at the sight of her. "Hai, Obaa-san."

Momo stood up politely.

"Ohayo, Obaa-san."

The grandmother smiled and chuckled, waving off the formality, then 'oh!'ed.

"Who is this young lady?"

"Nazami Sayomi, Obaa-san." Toshiro answered for the brown-haired girl.

"Hai," She agreed.

"Well! It is a delight to meet you! Shiro-chan doesn't often have friends over, it's so nice to see his circle widening…"

Toshiro stomped his sandaled foot angrily. "Obaa-san…!" He protested.

The old woman laughed like tinkling bells and Toshiro melted into an open look.

"Come inside, come inside! Tell me about yourself, Sayomi-san."

IIOIOIOII

"A Captain?!"

"Hai. I resigned today, however."

"Oh, dearie, that is so sad." Nazami was a little surprised at the sincere empathy from the woman.

"Yes, I suppose it is. My calling is elsewhere now."

The grandmother nodded sagely. "It is always wise to follow one's callings."

Toshiro stared at his grandmother.

"You have been traveling, have you not? Not many of your folk come around here."

"Yes, Obaa-san, I have." Nazami called her that under the grandmother's instructions.

"And you made it this far? Why - why not stay the night to rest?"

"Really?" Nazami raised her eyebrows, then laughed. "It is not trouble at all, grandma, to keep walking."

"Nonsense!" The woman fussed motherly. "It will be dark soon! Come, come, I am sure we have a spare futon in here somewhere…"

IIOIOIOII

It was the middle of the night. Hinamori had long since left by the time it was dark. Toshiro had watched after her until she disappeared.

Nazami was gazing out of the window by the floor to which she slept with only a blanket over her body. She was perfectly content to look at the stars, like she did with her zanpakutou. She swallowed idly and turned her gaze to look into the room and with a dash Toshiro turned over quickly in his futon.

She couldn't help but let out a rich laugh and she saw the boy's ears turn red. Grandma didn't stir, and Toshiro didn't move. She intrigued him, much to his curiosity and frustration.

Nazami turned over to face the wall and at some point, fell asleep.

IIOIOIOII

Toshiro had a vivid dream that night of a large ice dragon, trying to tell him his name.

_This dream… It keeps coming back, but now… So vivid… I… I can't hear it…_

"Wake up, kid! Toshiro!"

The boy gasped awake, seeing the extremely beautiful woman above him that stirred him.

"Wake up," She whispered, shaking his shoulder. "Your granny is cold."

He looked and saw his thinning grandmother shivering, ice crystals forming on the back of her blanket where he was.

He gasped and felt ashamed.

"It is nothing to be ashamed about." She touched his forehead. He gave her his attention. "You hear a voice inside, don't you?" She touched his heart, he straightened. It stirred something inside of his chest, and he felt warmth – only he was too shocked about his dream and his grandma. "It's talking to you. You have extraordinary power, Toshiro, and you need to learn to control it. Become a Shinigami."

"Shinigami…?" He echoed. He looked to his Obaa-san, and she was shivering in her futon.

"Only if you want to. Always, Toshiro, always, follow your instincts."

IIOIOIOII

Nazami stood on the deck in front of the small house the next morning, earlier than the other two residents did, and listened.

"There is something on the wind." said the woman. Nazami's eyes darted from left to right.

She disappeared that morning by the time Toshiro and his grandmother woke up.

Toshiro appeared most affected. He searched all around the house, and the woods, and even went to the market. She was not there. Of course, he went without telling his grandmother.

But when he arrived home, perturbed that the young woman was no longer there, his grandmother smiled at him.

"She has affected you."

Toshiro bristled. "Granny-"

"No no, Toshiro-kun. It is good."

Toshiro made a startled, stifled noise in his throat, listening.

"She affects you in ways others don't. Not many can get close to you. Trust it, my grandson."

_Always, Toshiro, always, follow your instincts._

IIOIOIOII

Noise and chatter was buzzing throughout Seireitei.

"Did you hear-?"

"I heard! She sent those men back to us in complete shambles!"

"Who?"

"The ex-taicho! Nazami Sayomi!"

"Nazami Sayomi?"

"Haven't you heard?"

"She wouldn't just hurt the men that she had worked with before!"

"I heard they were meant to get her back... since she left..."

IIOIOIOII

"Yamamoto-taichou!"

The man grunted.

"What should we do?"

There was silence as the wind drifted through the open mouths of the archways that held up the large ceiling in the room he was in to the man seated at a plain desk. A large space between him and the kneeled subordinate.

"Let her be, for now."

The man startled, stammering. "Y-Yamamoto-taicho! She has gotten away!"

Soi Fon stepped forward, newly appointed in her position among the captains who were also gathered. "One of us should go after her, she must have gone mad!"

"No!" Yamamoto did not have to raise his voice, but everyone was quiet. "Let her be, for now."

IIOIOIOII

Hitsugaya Toshiro got into the academy, and then to his surprise, graduated early. He had not expected himself to be a natural genius, it had just happened that way.

However, when he became a taichou and then took the title of being the youngest captain in history, he was teased a lot for his height and age. The only comfort he had was his own resolve and the words of the once Captain Nazami Sayomi – steadiness and he would get there.

He met Matsumoto, who was his new lieutenant. She had been the woman he bumped into that day at the stall where he was buying sweets and she scolded the vendor for his poor customer skills.

Hitsugaya excelled at being a captain. He ran the division like no other. And Matsumoto did not stop babbling about the former captain, though not to insult his abilities, and he learned involuntarily many things about her.

How she met her in the real world, how she then died and later graduated the Shinigami academy, becoming the taichou of this division and turning it around significantly. How it nearly fell apart again when she left, and then he came along.

Momo had told him the news in Seireitei that followed shortly after she left his and his granny's house, and he knew she left to protect them.

He had wondered what kind of a person would leave her friends, but Matsumoto assured him that Nazami was one to always follow her instincts. It was time for her to leave, as no one stays in one place forever. And it turned out for the best for the people she left behind – they finally realized their goals or life directions, like achieving bankai or reconsolidating with an old acquaintance. It was a necessary cog in the machine, so to speak. (Matsumoto also realized her feelings for Gin at the time).

Nazami had touched him that night when he was young and a brat – she had not judged him for his looks, she spoke to him kindly, and she stirred something inside him that made his zanpakutou stir to life. He felt… connected to her. Her mysterious absence only made him want to follow her. Even in the days of the academy, everybody was hush hush about Nazami Sayomi, even though gossisp flew like the wind. Even as time went on, even Yamomoto was tight lipped about the ex-taichou of the tenth division. No Captains asked.

And still, Toshiro never forgot about her.

IIOIOIOII

It was the dead of night in the prison tower.

It was after the final battle with Aizen. Seireitei won only by a leap.

Light from the only window shone through into a single holding cell – near the one where Momo had been arrested in after Aizen was 'killed' the first time. A figure sat huddled against the wall, though there was the sense that her small size didn't effect her strength.

The woman was quiet, as was Nazami. They were both blank faced, or absent.

Toshiro stepped forward, without official warrant or permission for being here, and knelt by the bars. He was normally one to follow protocol, but in this case, he just wasn't in it.

"You help the Seireitei, and this is where you are put." He says quietly, announcing his presence. His voice has grown deeper, huskier, over the years.

Intelligent dark eyes snapped to him, although she had known he was there. She said nothing.

He grinned wryly. "I don't know if you recognise me… It's been a long time since I've seen you. You must, only I have hair and eyes like these…"

There was only silence and her breathing.

"I have been dreaming of you, every night." He said. Then frowned. "You won't go away. I know you somehow... Hyourinmaru... he won't stop talking to me about it." He looked up and saw no visible emotional reaction from her, although he sensed she understood.

"Seireitei has been searching for you for years." He swallowed. "But _I've _been searching for you for years too. Yamamoto-taichou kept files of you under lock and key. It all came out with the unravelling of the war. And here you are. They only caught you when you stepped into our walls." Or was it because she had let them?

His gaze hardened sternly, though he was not looking directly at her.

"They plan to execute you in the morning for treason."

_I resigned._ Nazami thought to herself. _And helped Seireitei's cause against Aizen._

"You stepped in in the fight with Aizen, a big turning-point in our side of things." Toshiro turned his head away. "That may not be enough before the judges. They'll find something to pin you with. But I do not see the same treatment towards Urahara-san and Yoruichi-san." His husky voice was a little bitter at the end at the injustice.

He then snapped his white head to her. He had grown so handsome over the years.

"Why did you leave, that day?" He was talking of the day she left after spending a night at their small shack of a house before he became a Shinigami, and right after she resigned from being one.

He got no answer. He suspected that it was because of the black clothed squad that passed his house. They had deadly intent in their eyes...

He cleared his throat, staring at the woman who had only gotten more beautiful as time had gone on. He did not mind at all that she did not speak, though he would have liked it if she did. He saw her in the battle, beautiful and striking. She had grown prettier, and possessed a hardening she didn't have to her more gentle-countenance when he first met her.

She was stronger. She had been so fierce and unyielding out there, on the battlefield.

She had let off her reiatsu in the battle, and it attracted everyone's attention. Those who had been familiar with her reiatsu before or not were stammeringly surprised that it had raised beyond captain level and suffocated many of the hollows. Aizen and Yamamoto were those who were not affected so much, but everyone else had felt a little bit of crushing pressure.

"They want to execute me because they cannot control me, taichou." Her smooth voice told him. The skin on the back of his neck rose at the sound. Something in him stirred, like the first time he met her and heard her voice, and when she touched him. "If they cannot have me, then they have to kill me. It has happened before."

"Aah." He acknowledged with a small nod. He had read the files.

She startled to chuckle. At first quietly, then it creeped up a little in volume, a little eerily for the way her eyes were watching him, if you asked Toshiro.

"I do not see the point." She said confidently, voice louder than it was before. "That simply buys them time. It does not get rid of me." It lowered in volume again, quiet, mysterious.

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I will start over again. Like last time." Something in her eyes glowed. It looked almost like a muted version of the power she used during the battle with Aizen. "We are one now." She said quietly.

Toshiro felt a chill and a thrill of pleasure. He wasn't sure if she meant her and something else – or if she meant her soul and his. It certainly felt that way.

"_I can take you to the in between place. No one can follow you there." said her Zanpakutou to her quietly._

"_Take me." Nazami was ready – MORE than ready. She could feel it in her bones. She was standing on the edge of an old age and the precipice of a new era._

"_It is irreversible. If we go, we will be one. This time, we will not be separated again. You haven't wanted to go before, in our other lifetimes, so when we died, we separated and I went to the in-between place, and you would switch between the living world and the Shinigami world. But if you come with me, and we are cemented, if we die, we will die together and never return."_

His arms moved.

With a clang, the bars opened.

Nazami was surprised at the turn of events. She let go of her knees and watched him in the dim light.

Toshiro looked away, a shadow casting over his face.

"I set you free. Ever since that day… You touched something in me and set it free. I return the favor, you do not belong behind bars or under someone else's jurisdiction. You were the one who freed and awakened me, and in turn, I free you." He turned his head as if dismissing her, although inside he wasn't. "I will tell no one that you are gone till morning."

"_We emerged from the in-between. It is where our everything originates. At the beginning of time, we crawled out of its river. And now, we will go back." said the woman with conviction._

When he looked back into the cell, it was empty.

IIOIOIOII

Hinamori was looking at Hitsugaya with something akin to sadness and turmoil – her confusion.

"You…" She clasped her hand near her chest. "You have changed, again."

Hitsugaya did not move.

_That… that look in his eyes…_

Momo screamed and smacked him around the face.

"What did you do?!"

IIOIOIOII

She is his siren.

"Goodbye, Matsumoto."

He has realized that now. She calls him forward, and within him, all of his power reaches forward to its maximum potential. Where she goes, he follows.

Rangiku smiles. She does not feel bitter that her friends leave her, Gin, Nazami, now her taichou. She is happy for the last two because they have found something beyond what the rest of them have, and they have happiness together.

"Goodbye, taichou." Matsumoto wipes her eyes. "I hope… you are happy, with her." She sniffs, but she is so happy. She is the only one who can tell that he's doing this because of Nazami.

He bows his head.

"I have already… said my goodbyes. You are the last that I say goodbye to… You mean the most." He told her. Hinamori and he had grown apart since she put the wedge called Aizen between them. It saddened him but it was her choice to not let that go.

Matsumoto made a happy jump, and ran forward to her taichou. Hitsugaya had grown over the years. He is at her shoulders now. He closes his eyes into her shoulder and hugs her back.

It is a long time before either pull away. Matsumoto's body shakes with hiccups.

"You will be happy with me gone." He murmurs, an attempt at a joke.

She mumbles something.

"You go get your girlfriend!" She smiles and wipes her eyes. "Be happy, taichou."

IIOIOIOII

She is waiting for him far beyond the borders of Seireitei and Rukongai with glowing blue eyes and a staff in her hand that is taller than her head.

He flash-steps before her, hands folded in his haori and a simple bag of supplies on his back. The wind gently blows their clothes.

She gazes at him, then she takes him by the collar and kisses him firmly on the mouth in a seal. The dragon inside him stirs and roars. She is different again, and only more compelling, made _more _of the stuff that awakened in him all his potential and power. His consent in going with her was by staying rooted to the spot.

"That night," She tells him when she pulls away. "When you freed me, I am the one that covered your reiatsu so that you were never there." That is how Hitsugaya would never be the culprit for freeing Nazami. Until he disappears, of course.

He smiled, knowing she will be the only one he will be smiling at from now on, and was incredibly happy about that.

"You felt it too, didn't you?"

"I did." She nodded. "It was final at the battle of Aizen."

He nods in sync with her. They smile, the bond between them forged and connected.

He loved her, and she loved him.

Their lips meet again, this time more slowly, and mutually initiated. It was slow and passionate, her fingers at his jaw and his hand at the junction of her head and neck. They slowly snake each other in their embrace, and their bodies touch, making them both gasp into each other's mouth. She bites on his lower lip slowly and he moans, _moans_, into her mouth. With his hair, he is taller than her. Something inside them both purrs and both their bodies hum with Nazami's power. Hitsugaya is also glowing with a light aura.

They pull away. She notices his aura. It will get stronger when he goes back to where he came from.

"Are you really ready to leave?"

He smiled.

"It is my calling."

Silently, she agreed with him.

_You're coming back with me, to where you belong. You crawled out of there with me, and we were separated. Now, we will go back together, and end this repetitive cycle._

"Since we became known to the Soul Society, it has been a battle for the occupation of power. Now, we end this."

She bends her knees, about to jump. He follows, and they leap away into the night, away from Seireitei, and were never seen nor heard from again by the Shinigami Society or the living world.

IIOIOIOII

Ichigo brought balance to the Shinigami world, becoming Head Captain once he died, and ruling over a more just and fair Seireitei.


End file.
